By Geno McGahee
Every time that I watch a movie from around this time I’m automatically returned to a time when the video stores were still around and doing well. Titles like FINAL REMAINS were all over the place and would often make for an entertaining evening. These movies have low budget but big hearts and that is what we see with the Shawn Hazelaar production.
The story surrounds Henry Parks (Leon Acord), a man trying to get his life together as he works at a funeral home, but an old acquaintance, Dr. Gronig (Phil Sheridan), is making life difficult. He is sure that Henry has something to do with the missing people in town and wants to stop him from killing again…although his past seems pretty shady. His torment of Henry as a child, followed by the harassment may have had something to do with his mental state.
Meanwhile, Tina (Heather Hartmann) is planning the big move out of the home and in with her boyfriend, and has to deal with an annoying little brother. One note here: At the beginning of the scene, the young brother is holding a milk carton with a picture of a missing woman on it. They used the worst picture of the woman that they could find. It looked like she was beaten before the picture was taken and the shot was very strange, but it was amusing. So, I gave it a pass.
Tina is invited by her boyfriend and his friend to an intimate gathering…at a funeral home and that is where they come face to face with the killer. I did like the killer’s mask. It was one of those clear plastic ones that distort the appearance of the person wearing it. It just looked creepy, but the character just didn’t have any presence. This movie was shot very well, but the killer just wasn’t scary at all. You have to give the producers an A for effort with the TLC that went into making this, but the killer was unable to really jump off of the screen.
The four young adults are locked in the funeral home and now fight for their lives. Dr. Grogin finally makes his way in to take down the killer and thinks that he does, but this movie brings a slight twist at the end.
FINAL REMAINS isn’t a great film, but it does some things right. It was shot very well, the acting is above average for this level, and it does keep you entertained. I especially liked when the police were pulling over two of the characters and went over their intercom, telling the driver to “pull over asshole” three times. It was very funny and you don’t see that enough. I wouldn’t dislike cops so much if they did this as they pulled you over.
I recommend FINAL REMAINS. If you remember going to the video store around this time and you are a horror fanatic, then you probably saw this film. It brings back memories and is worth a watch!
Rating: 5.5/10
